Tag Archives: Listmas

Immediately after Thanksgiving, local radio stations have to start airing Christmas songs. Forget that we haven’t even finished the month of November and our turkey dinners have barely settled into our stomachs. Despite the earlier and earlier reminders of the holiday season, thanks to retailers and corporations doing all they can to shove it into our mindset, I’m always excited for the chance to listen to my favorite Christmas songs once again. It’s the one time of the year I can enjoy it until next December. For me, it’s just not Christmas without hearing certain songs at least once. I’ve compiled a list of my personal favorite songs I MUST hear every Christmas season. Be sure to also check out my fellow GFNer Cary’s great post about the different versions of the same Christmas songs she prefers to listen to.

I have a pretty high tolerance for Christmas music. Every December, I regularly cycle through my few Christmas playlists, and if you happen to catch me knitting, baking, or doing something homey, I’m probably listening to or humming a holiday tune. I find the vast majority of holiday hits very likeable, from religious hymns to novelty songs. So as my head has been filled with mostly holiday tunes of late, I thought about covering a few here for #Lismas2014. But rather than go the simple “most favorite” or “least favorite” routes, I’m taking a more circuitous path. It’s true that plenty of unpleasant holiday music has been released over the airwaves since Christmas music became a thing to sell to the masses, but there are levels to the unpleasantness. While my ears will welcome almost any Christmas song, I’m averse to certain versions of some songs. The songs on the list don’t constitute my favorites, if I must listen to them, their versions mean the difference between reluctant acceptance and nails on a chalkboard.

Cave Story (PC)

I found this game at the height of my dissatisfaction with gaming and yearning for the retro days. It was the perfect find. Everything about this game is short and sweet, without any of the tiresome, excessive features that keep stacking up in mainstream gaming. Beautiful, pixel-based graphics, platform-shooter gameplay, a brief story that respects the player’s intellect. In artistic endeavors, keeping things simple is what opens them up for the view to put themself in. This is a game that really invites you to develop a relationship with it. It also was my introduction to indie games.

Tetris (PC)

I’m not the kind of person who really bites hard into casual games. I see them as time-wasters more than an experience. As old as Tetris is, I didn’t really play it until I got a job. At Job, I learned that there isn’t always a lot to do, so while sitting at Desk and awaiting Responsibility, time-wasters can be pretty handy. In those many hours, I played Tetris. I played it hard. Then I started playing it at home. Tetris became less about wasting time and more about perfecting a new skill. I became better at Tetris than I ever before thought humanly possible, and I know that I’m nothing compared to the powers that others have obtained.

We Love Katamari (PS2)

Did everyone play Katamari or did nobody? Everyone talks about it like it’s obscure. It’s one of the most unique games I’ve ever played on a console. You are a tiny prince with a sticky ball and it’s your job to roll up everything in the world, starting with paperclips and ending with countries. You can only roll up things that you’re already larger than. If the game wasn’t pure fun, you would probably notice that you’re committing some of the most horrifyingly violent acts to ever take place in a game. You roll up babies, mothers, cats… Terrified police open fire upon you in desperation, but it’s hopeless for them. The blindfolded guy swinging at a pinata shouts “What’s going on?!” as you absorb him. You don’t care. You’re smiling and laughing and singing along to the music. You’re a child again, incapable of empathy.

Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

This is another game that I call a great artistic achievement. You are a swordsman slaying giant landscape monsters to revive a sacrificed girl. The bosses are fascinating and intense experiences, but that’s really all there is to it. The world is vast and completely open for you to explore, but there are only small things for you to find that boost your two stats (health and grip) very slightly. This game is the anti-Zelda. The world is so blank, other than the beginning and the end, that it becomes a playground for theory and the gamer’s own storytelling.

Disgaea

This grid-based, tactical game has two sides. There’s the main game, with puzzle based elements controlling the battlefield maps in ways that can either secure your victory or destroy you, depending on how they are used. It’s fun and challenging and has a funny, offbeat story. Then there is the post-game where everything goes crazy and you have to become insanely powerful to accomplish anything. You can beat the story at around level 50, but your characters cap at level 9999. There are insane difficulty jumps between every remaining challenge, and you have to find creative ways to maximize your grind to ever have a hope (if done right, you can gain hundreds of levels with a single attack). It’s the most satisfying thing to be completely destroyed by a mob of super-powerful enemies, then to return and crush them all with a single character whom they can’t touch. There’s also something to say about my lack of regret for sinking over one-thousand hours into the first two games… so far. It might not be a good thing. I guess I’m prone to monomania.

The Mother Series (NES, SNES, GBA)

My prefered playing order for these games: Earthbound (Mother 2), Mother 3, Mother (Earthbound Zero). If you want to play them all (you do) but only speak English, you’ll have to emulate and grab fan translation hacks. These games are absolutely beautiful, and they completely deviate from their JRPG genre. They are set in vintage America, and the action is mostly text-based. All of the dialogue and situations are quirky and funny, but the games are no joke. They can be disturbing, tragic, highly intellectual, and touching. Throughout it all, the fun and the heartbreak, you feel a sense of innocence. These games have more love in them than anything else I’ve ever played, and probably ever will play. Not just love for the game, from the creator or the player, but love for everyone and everything; and, of course, all of the vulnerability that comes with it.

Today and tomorrow, I’m running two lists from a close friend and loyal reader. Please show your love in the comments!

This isn’t necessarily a list of recommendations, nor is it necessarily a list of favorites. It could be a little bit of each, or it could be an instruction manual on what games to give to your child while they are still impressionable. Something it most definitely is, though, is a list of the games that have had such a profound impact on me during my twenty-six years of life that they are recorded in my soul-crystals and can never be replaced.

Super Mario World (SNES)

This was the first platformer, maybe the first videogame, that baby-me was given. It taught me how to jump without moving anything but my thumb, though for many years I would be physically jumping through intense moments in any game. It has a great balance of difficulty, a steady learning-curve, a colorful and imaginative world, tons of secrets and alternate paths including difficult hidden stages for people who are into that, memorable music… everything. It’s not the standard against which all other platformers are judged. Why would we do that? It’s not in any contest with any other game. There are platformers, and there is Super Mario World. There is every other Mario game, and there is Super Mario World. Forever, in my head, saying “Mario” will be a pointer only to this game.

Final Fantasy IV, VI (SNES)

I can’t pick one–I’ve been trying for years. If Mario taught me how to press buttons, these two taught me how to read. Final Fantasy VI (or III in Nintendo’s renumbering) is theoretically and artistically an amazing triumph and, I’ll always argue, the greatest Final Fantasy. It accomplishes its lofty ambitions so fluidly that it never seems out of place (For examples, having no main character, or having sidequests that are so integral that they are pursued without feeling “secret” or “optional.”) The memories of this game are mixed with Yoshitaka Amano’s beautiful and unique illustrations with which the now-tattered but still-treasured player’s guide was laden. And, of course, every note from the soundtrack to either game can be recalled effortlessly.

Final Fantasy VI was dark and tragic, but IV was lush and vibrant. Final Fantasy IV (or II, Nintendo…) is the triumphant fantasy that we all want told to us over and over–which is pretty much my approach to playing that game, as it was when I was young. Knights! Dwarves! Magic! Crystals! Regret! Rebirth! The future is from the past! Going to the moon in a giant whale/spaceship! So many crystals! There is everything to love, even if it is, artistically, pretty standard. It’s been ported with new content and remade with new mechanics and had sequels forced upon it, but none of that is canon with my childhood, so who cares.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

I don’t know what to say. I bought a used cartridge from FuncoLand just because I liked the title-sticker. It didn’t communicate anything to me other than “this game has a sword in it,” but that was enough. This game was a new format that allowed a different kind of exploration. The world is open, but obstacles that can’t be passed without certain items make the experience linear. The whole time, you’re taunted with visible secrets and treasures that are just out of your reach, feeding your need to explore. I’ve played every Zelda game since finding this one. More, please?

Megaman X (SNES)

Another legendary game that fell into my hands through magic, this was a gift from my Aunt who had no children and didn’t speak English. This is a side-scrolling platformer with gun-based combat and a massive emphasis on mobility. Wall-clinging and dash-jumping were added from the original Megaman games, giving you the ability to practically fly through stages and dodge anything where you were previously glued to the ground and had to deal with every enemy that didn’t have the courtesy to jump over you. Playing these games just makes you feel awesome, until X5, that is.

Super Smash Brothers (N64)

This game proved that you could have a fast, technical fighting game without having to memorize button combos. You have two attack buttons and each can combined with a directional button for a different attack. The controls are the same with every character, but they all play differently. It’s amazing. It’s also worth note that games like this, along with MarioKart 64, Mario Party, and Goldeneye pretty much redefined gaming as something (or the very best thing) that could be done casually with a group of friends instead of something for the isolated.

Guitar Hero 2 (PS2)

I didn’t even like music until I got this game. Seriously. Most of all that I’d ever heard was classic rock, and only while being driven to school. The heavier rock and metal to which this game exposed me was life-changing. It was rewarding to watch my skill-growth over the years that this game would stay close at hand. Listening to the songs while finding the perfect times to hit notes also taught me about beat, note-quartering, and time signatures. It lit a new fire in me. It took a while, but now musician and composer are in my list of skills.

For those of you who were readers during the glory days of Nintendo Power, your first exposure to video game comics probably involved Howard Phillips and his good friend Nester. These goofy stories were a source of tips and humor in the earlier issues of NP. As the president of the Nintendo Fun Club, Howard Phillips would play the straight-man to Nester’s stubborn and off-the-wall antics. Over the course of 21 issues, the lovable pair were immersed into the hit video games of the day, often to comedic results.

As a celebration of Listmas 2013, I am taking a break from the usual comic book analysis to share my three favorite Howard and Nester stories from pages past (hit the issue links for the full comics). Here we go!

As a kid who spent much of his time at the local library, the thought of finding a Legend of Zelda book seemed like a dream. Granted, I wouldn’t have dismissed some of the classics like Nester here, but I definitely sought out the more off-beat stuff in the stacks. I especially love Nester’s indignant reaction to finding Howard in his story, even though the bow-tied knight is just trying to help.

This comic was the first time I had ever heard of QA departments and play-testing in video games. Until that time, I just assumed that the developers made the games correctly on the first try. What can I say, I was a naïve kid. At least I knew better than to assume the world of game testing was as fantastic as Howard and Nester would make it seem. If only we could just hop into a game to test for bugs. Then again, that’s a lot of pain and respawning for anyone who is testing Call of Duty…

Okay, so this one isn’t technically a “Howard and Nester” comic. After Howard Phillips left Nintendo back in 1991, Nester carried the torch in his own adventures for many more issues. It was in Issue 55 of Nintendo Power when Nester’s Adventures went on hiatus. The plucky mascot showed up for three more special comic appearances: as a college student in #100, as a father in #231 (the twentieth anniversary of NP), and once more in the final issue of Nintendo Power, #285. When the last issue hit store shelves, I made sure to secure a copy from my local bookstore. This comic is a total tear-jerker to longtime readers of Nintendo Power (and to anyone with a heart). I hope to someday share in this bittersweet sort of moment with my future children.

Looking back at these comics, I am really impressed with how well the artwork has stood up over time. The facial expressions on Howard and Nester are very emotive, and the shading is especially nice throughout the series. Special thanks to Tiny Cartridge for posting the final comic, and to the Howard and Nester Comics Archive, where you can find every one of these fun-filled stories. Merry Listmas, everyone!

It doesn’t snow in California. I’ve come to accept that, and having lived in places where it does snow, I comfort myself with the firsthand knowledge that as pretty as it is, snow can be a hassle too. But around this time of year, I find myself gravitating towards video games, books, and movies that feature cold winter weather. For some reason, the snowy settings help set the mood for the holidays. That’s why my computer backdrop for the season is this:

It’s Skyrim. And that just happens to be my first choice for my favorite sci-fi and fantasy worlds that make awesome wintry vacation spots, even if it’s just in my imagination.

1. Skyrim

It might be a dangerous place if you’re on the wrong side of the civil war or facing an unexpected dragon attack, but Skyrim is the most beautiful video game landscape I’ve ever seen and would make an amazing vacation spot. Though parts of it are sunny — a ‘crisp autumn day’ type of sunny, that is — much of it is covered in snow. In fact, Windhelm can look downright bleak with its gray walls and murky skies, but it has an intense atmosphere that draws you in. Personally, I love climbing snow-topped mountains and looking for ruins partially buried under the snow when I play Skyrim. And when I came across a little village along the way, the chilly atmosphere only makes ducking indoors feel cozier.

2. Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia)

The world of Narnia felt so magical when I was a kid, and I still love it. This place is one where animals can talk and magic abounds. There are witches and centaurs and unicorns, and the change of seasons feels important. For instance, there was a time when the White Witch covered Narnia in ice and snow for 100 years, which caused all kinds of hardships for the people. But winter is exactly the time I would want to step through my wardrobe into Narnia, just to experience that thrilling chill of discovery in an atmosphere that so suits it.

3. Pandora (Borderlands)

Pandora is another video game setting that oozes charisma. It’s not always the prettiest of places, but its dingy settlements, psychos, and monsters have a visual appeal that’s part art style, part amazing atmosphere. When I play a Borderlands game, I completely lose myself on the planet of Pandora, and my favorite areas are always the snowy ones. Seeing massive glaciers and tramping through snow with crackling ice nearby is the perfect way to start off a playthrough of Borderlands 2.

4. Hogsmeade (Harry Potter)

Who wouldn’t want to get away from school and drink butterbeer in Hogsmeade? That’s what Harry Potter and his friends do when they get to spend a weekend day in this little all-wizard village of snow-covered cottages and shops. Hogwarts students bundle up in their coats and scarves to make the wintry trek to the village — and then they escape inside where it’s warm. Plus, enchanted candles nestle in the trees during the holiday season to make the place festive. It might be wizards-only, but this town would make a cozy winter getaway for anyone’s imagination.

5. Noveria (Mass Effect)

Noveria is cold — so cold that people stay inside pretty much all the time. When you first visit the planet in the first Mass Effect game, there are severe storm warnings, but of course you brave the weather to complete your mission before it’s too late. While I enjoyed exploring the industrial-looking facilities built on Noveria to shield the people there from the elements, getting into the snow outside and seeing the glaciers up close was even better… even if it did involve driving the Mako.

If there’s one holiday movie that I simply must watch at this time of year it’s Miracle on 34th Street (1947). This amazing, post-World War II project starring a young Natalie Wood is filled with everything you could want from a holiday movie: great sounds, fantastic sites, and a wonderful story. What this movie doesn’t have, or rather, what the original version doesn’t is color. Oh, the movie has since been released in color, but that’s not my version. And I’m not trying to sound like a movie snob, I simply prefer the black and white version of the movie. I don’t need red, white, and green blasting me in the face as I’m trying to enjoy this simple yet brilliant tale involving the one and only Kris Kringle. I’ve seen its colorized counterpart, and the color doesn’t add anything. It doesn’t make the movie feel more Christmasey. If anything, it detracts from the visuals. Miracle on 34th Street is black and white (and gray) in form and function, and I simply like it that way.

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